1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a safety pneumatic tire which can support the weight subjected to the wheels by means of the rigidity inherent to the tire sidewall even when the internal pressure applied to the tire is suddenly reduced to zero causing the tire to be deflated and which can continue running for a long distance without accompanied by some restriction. The safety pneumatic tire according to the invention is particularly useful for passenger cars.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Safety pneumatic tires comprising reinforced sidewalls has been well known. Heretofore, it has been common practice to increase the thickness of an annular resilient reinforcing body made integral with the sidewall of the purpose of improving a run flat characteristic of the tire, that is, increasing the running distance for a punctured condition of the tire. The use of the annular resilient reinforcing body which is large in thickness results in an increase of the weight of the tire as a whole. In addition, heat generated in the annular resilient reinforcing body frequently induces tire failures. Moreover, the rolling resistance and the tire comfortable property of the inflated tire applied with the normal internal pressure therein under the normal running condition become inferior to the ordinary tire. As a result, the thickness of the annular resilient reinforcing body could not be increased beyond a certain limit. Thus, there is a limit for improvement in the run flat characteristic of the tire with the aid of the increased thickness of the annular resilient reinforcing body.